IHMN: Some thoughts for the Beginner in Designing an Adventuring Company, Part 10b (Location, Location, Location)

The Lost City of Opar.

Finding a locale to have an adventure with In Her Majesty's Name is not difficult. When I started playing I just used the terrain I had. In the picture above, before I purchased "the ruins" from a pet store, you can see palm trees from a dinosaur children's play set, a statue from GW's The Lord of the Rings Strategy game, a stone wall from Warhammer, a stone bridge from Gale Force 9's river "Battlefield in a Box", and cobblestones from my Christmas Village layout!

Note the terrain in our very first game: Same palm trees, a rock formation from the same dinosaur set, wood bridge and river from "Battlefield in a Box" (purchased for WW II 15mm gaming), WH40K ruins, a WH40K cardstock obelisk, a water dish for a turtle, more LOTR terrain and a Play Mobile mine/rock formation.  The green felt outlined the trees - be creative.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog, I have not done any Victorian urban settings, but the kits and accessories that are out there are amazing. Jim Bob graciously allowed me to use his pictures and he did these figures, buildings and accessories and it gives you a great idea what can be done. Simply amazing work.

So where do my games take place?

1. Deepest Darkest Africa. Lost cities, jungle tribes, lost civilizations, evil slavers, and the Lord of Jungle. What more can you ask for. Here are some of the setups we did:

The Mission Station.

Deep in the Jungle.

 Lost Cities!

 Highlanders vs. the Imperial Chinese Army in a lost city in Africa?

 North Africa.

 Lost Worlds!

2. The Wild, Wild, West.

Add a Warhammer cardstock building, an old HO train, and boom! You are now in the Wild, Wild, West baby!

Burlap is great for arid terrain. Here I have used some scatter terrain, hills from "Battlefield in a Box", some old HO railroad accessories, and that ole standby the card stock Warhammer cottage.

Game in progress. Dang gum flying mechanical monkeys.

The Wild West is easy to do.

3. North Piddle (snicker), England. North Piddle (snicker) is a real, small civil parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, England. It is located at Piddle (snicker) Brook. North Piddle (snicker) is the location of the British Museum storage annex, some famous manor ruins, and just some strange goings on. Mr. Sherlock Holmes has been there more than once on a case.

On December 17, 1890 there was an earthquake in the region that "exceeded in violence any previous instance of seismic energy there within the present century".  The earthquake was preceded by a loud roar "as of thunder" or "a rushing mighty wind", and residents whose windows were facing north saw a "great light", which some attributed to a large meteor. The meteorite was carefully analyzed by both British and French authorities and they concluded that an extraterrestrial origin was likely. 

 The ruins of the the ancestral home of the Nightengale Family near North Piddle (snicker). Note the WH40K terrain pieces, Warhammer card stock ruined building, and the board from Hero Quest with accessories. The square grids on the Hero Quest board are 1 inch making movement easy.

The outskirts of North Piddle (snicker). Wait a minute is that a  . . . 

 What the . . . ?"  Yi Niu, greatest swords woman of China, discovers a strange structure as she races ahead as the vanguard of General Raglan's company in North Piddle (snicker).

The British Museum Warehouse Annex under the care of the "Caretaker".

Game in progress. The blocks are from a Build it yourself house kit my kids had.

The Caretaker.

The Cult of Doom (!) up to no good in the ruined cathedral outside of North Piddle (snicker).

4. India. When working on my second thesis for my MMAS I chose a subject pertaining to the Second Afghan War. Yep, I was hooked.

Ridges, scrub brush and the occasional Warhammer card stock castle tower.

 Elephants!

More lost cities and temples! (Yes I use a lot of the same terrain throughout the world.)

 The Secret Temple of the Mad Guru (that's another aquarium piece in the background).

Another picture of the Aquarium piece.

5. Miscellaneous:

 The Wonderful Land of Oz.

 The Smithsonian Institute.

The Secret Underground Headquarters in an abandoned Underground Station of Dr. Fu Manchu. 

 Barsoom (Mars). Scrub brush scatter terrain, rocks and city ruins from "Battlefield in a Box." Desert "fungi" on the bases of the warriors and on some of the scatter terrain.

Remember, most 250 point games will take place on a 4 foot x 4 foot playing surface and you can probably use whatever you have available. Old trains, terrain from other games and that oh so valuable pet store. The only thing holding you back is your own imagination.

Next: Official Adventuring Companies I have used (and maybe some commentary!).

Priming Figures Part 2: A Story of Black and White starring The Red Queen and DA Denton

Dang, The Red Queen looks a bit sad and I still need to fix her forehead. Time to start adding highlights. For her skin I went back over with Basic Flesh Tone to make her paler but being careful not to cover up any of the shading from the dark flesh. You may notice that I did not do a perfect job on fixing the imperfection of the molding on the forehead, but at a gaming distance on the tabletop it looks just fine.

I painted her pearls Flat Black and then just dabbed Flat White so we could see the jewelry. For the eyes (I'm not as good as I used to be with eyes - early onset of OLD), I first painted Neutral Gray as some eyeliner, then Flat Black and then some Flat White. I carefully dabbed a dot of Flat Black for the actual eyes.

I added some GW Red Wash to the hair, another coat of Neutral Gray to the gloves, and Earth Brown to the revolver handle. Eyebrows - sorta. I put some GW Skrag Brown above the eyes.

 Now I am in more familiar territory. Denton's suit is highlighted with Sky Blue, buttons are flat white and I finished the shirt first with Buff and then Flat White. The tie is Flat Red and needs some cleanup around the shirt. I took some flat brown, watered it down and used it as a wash on the overcoat. I highlighter the shoes with Flat Earth and started experimenting with the various metal paints I have for the Tommy gun.

 He looks like a mess right now, but trust me, it'll get better. Oh and I added some Flat White for the headband and used the brown wash on the hat also.

Currently where we are at in the process with both figures. I have done no highlighting of The Red Queen's Dress or shoes as the white primer brought out the highlights nicely.

 View from the back. You may have noticed I highlighted DA Denton's gloves with some Neutral Gray.

Just about done. I went back over Denton's overcoat with Buff, and added a Dark Blue line at the top of The Red Queen's glove. I just dry brushed the revolver with Silver. For the Tommy Gun I used Gun Metal and the Highlighted carefully with Silver. I also added some Flat Red highlights to the Red Queen's Hair.

 Denton is basically finished. I added GW Skrag Brown over a base of flat brown for the Tommy Gun handle. I did some additional "clean-up" with the pants and hat. The side of the base was painted Chocolate Brown.

The two completed figures. Yes that is my finger print on The Red Queens base.

 Speaking of bases, I use watered down white glue and spread it over the base . . . 

 . . . then I add hobby sand. Once the sand is dry I put another coat of watered down glue over the sand.

For static grass (I use Gale Force Nine) I randomly add some watered down white glue and dio the bases in my static grass tupperware container. And yes I did  paint over my finger print. Once dry, I spray a clear, flat finish to help hold the static grass down and to protect the paint on the figures.

Time for adventure. The Black Prime made DA Denton look rugged and the White Prime made The Red Queen stand out and look flashy and glamorous.

IHMN: The Green Men of Mars

"The man himself, for such I may call him, was fully fifteen feet in height and, on Earth, would have weighed some four hundred pounds. He sat his mount as we sit a horse, grasping the animal's barrel with his lower limbs, while the hands of his two right arms held his immense spear low at the side of his mount; his two left arms were outstretched laterally to help preserve his balance, the thing he rode having neither bridle or reins of any description for guidance." From the journal of Captain John Carter.

"The men are trained in the higher branches of the art of war; in strategy and the maneuvering of large bodies of troops. They make the laws as they are needed; a new law for each emergency. They are unfettered by precedent in the administration of justice. Customs have been handed down by ages of repetition, but the punishment for ignoring a custom is a matter for individual treatment by a jury of the culprit's peers, and I may say that justice seldom misses fire, but seems rather to rule in inverse ratio to the ascendancy of law. In one respect at least the Martians are a happy people; they have no lawyers."  From the journal of Captain John Carter.


We have had a wonderful time working on the Barsoom project and we think we have some stats for In Her Majesty's Name. BIG DISCLAIMER: We have not play tested yet but rest assured there is going to be a hair raising adventure soon that will put them to the test!

Weird Science:

Radium Rifles are an extremely deadly weapon with a theoretical range of 300 miles. They fire small caliber explosive radium bullets which explode when exposed to light. The bullets are covered with a thin coating that breaks on contact with the target, thus creating an explosion. This is the principal firearm used by the green men. Many models are equipped with wireless finders and sighters and this lightweight weapon has a wood stock - a rare material on Barsoom - and a long metal barrel composed of a specially tempered alloy of aluminum and steel.

Radium Rifle
SV Bonus: +4
Range: 36"
Hands Required: 2
Pluck Modifier: -3 in Daylight; -1 at night or in situations like the Mystical Power Zone of Shadows.
Cost: 24 points. Has a built-in Monocular Targeting Array. Must have the Hunter talent to use for full effect. If the figure does not have the Hunter talent, it counts as an ordinary Military Rifle.

Radium Pistols are a firearm with a shorter range than the radium rifle:
 
Radium Pistol
SV Bonus: +2
Range: 8"
Hands Required: 1
Pluck Modifier: -2 in Daylight; 0 at night or in situations like the Mystical Power Zone of Shadows.
Cost: 7 points. 

"The Green Martians are the largest of the Martian races, the males standing up to fifteen feet tall and the females up to twelve feet. They have green skin, small antennae-like ears just above the eyes, and large tusks. In the males these tusks extend upwards to the level of the eyes. The eyes themselves are large and wide-set, with snowy white sclera and blood red irises. Each eye is capable of moving independently of the other. Green women differ in the fact that their skin color is lighter, their tusks extend up to the level of their antennae, and they also have vestigial fingernails." From the journal of Captain John Carter.

New Talent. Sword master: If the figure is armed with two blade weapons they can split their FV between them and thus between targets in base to base contact. 5 points.

Name: Green Martian

Pluck: 4+

Leadership: 0

Speed: 0

Fighting Value: +3

Shooting Value: +2

Talents: Fearless, Tough
May have up to 2 additional Talents: Beserker, Cavalryman (those thoats are big expensive models!), Duelist, Fanatic, Fortitude, Hunter, Intuitive, Lighting Draw, Marksman, Sword Master, Trick Riding.

Basic Equipment: Long Sword (Large sword and requires only one hand), short sword (sword) and dagger (fighting knife)

Armor: 8

Cost: 41

One Green Martian may choose the Leadership Talent +1 in addition to 2 additional talents.
A Thark Green Martian war band may include Tars Tarkas, John Carter, Dejah Thoris or Red Martains from the Empire of Helium. I have not done stats or point values for thoats because I doubt any time soon I will have them - but some other zoological specimens of Barsoom will be showing up!

"They are intelligent and capable of organizing themselves into a society, but they are almost all to a man brutish and cruel." From the journal of Captain John Carter.

A Green Martian War band among the ancient ruins of a Martian city.

Next: Tars Tarkas, Jeddak of Thark